While most people start their Christmas shopping in November, if you want to get the jump on the best toys you need to start in February! You don’t actually need to buy any toys yet (the hot holiday toys are not even out yet) but February is when Toy Fair 2013 takes places in New York City. It is at the International Toy Fair that the toy companies announce the new toys for the 2013 holiday season.
If you are thinking about attending the Toy Fair, maybe with the kids, think again. The International Toy Fair is a trade-industry only event and no kids are allowed. Yes, as crazy as that sounds, the Toy Fair takes place with only adults – no kids allowed. Before we try to guess what will be the hot toys of 2013, let’s look back at what was big in 2012.
Another major trend in toys for 2012 was apps connected to toys. Or maybe we should say toys connected to apps. It is clear that toy manufacturers are worried about the amount of time kids are spending playing on their iPhone or iPad, and in 2012 they were looking for a way to capitalize on that market. We say endless toys that now have an app they work with. Everything from board games like Monopoly to classic toys like cars from Mattel.
As the Toy Fair is not open to consumers, we need to rely on the press to give us a feel for what toys will be popular in 2013. There are a number of different sites that do toy reviews and there are also plenty of Mom blogs and Dad blogs that do toy reviews as well.
The only think better than an honest written toy review is a full hands-on toy review video. If you do some searching on YouTube you will find a number of channels dedicated to real world toy reviews. We found the “DadDoesBlog” Channel on YouTube and it has over 240 real world toy reviews. It is great to see the toys in action, before you put down your hard earned money to buy the toys.
If you are more of a visual learner, you should make YouTube your new best friend. After Toy Fair you will see a large number of toy review videos go up on YouTube. The great thing about a toy review video is that you can see the toy in action. What will be the best toys of 2013? That remains to be seen, but it looks like technology toys will be big again.
Suzi Reggily writes about the top toys and the toy industry. If you are interested in learning more, please visit Suzi’s website.
